Another big game tomorrow. The team needs to get another win at home. I am expecting a solid game from JJ McCarthy with improved accuracy. It is going to be tough to contain Caleb Williams but the strength of victory may indicate that the Bears have not faced too tough of a schedule yet. They have beat the Cowboys, Raiders, Commandos, Saints, Bengals, and Giants. Their strength of schedule thus far is 26th. Regardless, they have done what they should have done and beat the the lesser teams.
I believe it will be a bounce back game where the team is crisp and plays without many penalties or turnovers. If they can do that and sustain drives then it will be a good day. We are really going to need to see Dallas Turner play well.
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Minnesota Vikings score predictions for Week 11 rematch with Bears
The stakes are high for J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings this weekend against the Bears. Sunday’s rematch against Chicago will be just the fifth start of McCarthy’s career, but it’s essentially a must-win game for the 2025 Vikings and their postseason hopes. They can’t afford to lose another home game and fall to 4-6 on the season.
Will Ragatz: Vikings 26, Bears 24
J.J. McCarthy has never lost a game against a divisional opponent. He’s also never won a game at U.S. Bank Stadium. One of those (tiny sample-size) trends is going to end on Sunday, and I think it’ll be the latter. The Bears’ 6-3 record, -8 point differential, and +14 turnover margin all scream regression to the mean. Back in his NFL debut, McCarthy threw a pick-six while in field goal range and still managed to lead a comeback win over Chicago at Soldier Field. He’s now slightly more experienced, playing at home, and gets to throw to Jordan Addison, who was suspended for the first meeting between these teams.
McCarthy’s early struggles with basic footwork and accuracy worry me, as does the absence of Jonathan Greenard, the Vikings’ top pass rusher. That’s why I think this will be close. But I also think the Vikings have slight advantages over the Bears in terms of overall roster talent and coaching. They’re due for a home win, and at least so far, McCarthy has stepped up and delivered when his team has needed it most against division rivals. Will Reichard’s fourth field goal will be the game-winner on Sunday.
Joe Nelson: Vikings 40, Bears 10
The Bears aren’t good. Honestly, they’re probably the worst six-win team through 10 weeks in modern NFL history. I say that while acknowledging that Caleb Williams is a force to be reckoned with.
The Lions beat these Bears by 31 points. Chicago had a solid win over Dallas in Week 3, but their five victories since then are against horrible Vegas, extremely injured Washington, the No. 1 pick-seeking Saints, the rotten Bengals, and a bad Giants team that didn’t have Jaxson Dart in the fourth quarter. And they BARELY beat the Raiders, Commanders, and Giants, while needing a miracle to come away with a win over the Bengals. They stink. Vikings by 30.
Tony Liebert: Vikings 24, Bears 21
Jonathan Harrison: Vikings 28, Bears 14
NFL Expert Picks: Vikings vs. Bears in Week 11 Provides Intriguing Rematch of Week 1
Vikings 27, Bears 20 – Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
The Vikings need to get their offense going with J.J. McCarthy in this one. The Bears are 6-3 and have played well on offense, but the defense has been leaky at times. I also think the Vikings pass rush and blitzes will impact Caleb Williams into turnovers. Vikings take it.
Vikings 28, Bears 23 – Bill Bender, Sporting News
The Bears have pulled out dramatic fourth-quarter victories each of the last two weeks with Caleb Williams. Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy led a dramatic comeback against Chicago in Week 1 – but he has a 50.7% completion percentage in his last two starts. The Vikings make a stand late in desperation mode to stay afloat in the NFC North.
Bears 27, Vikings 24 – Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
The Bears have won two in a row to get back into playoff position in the NFC with Caleb Williams starting to steady his play in Ben Johnson’s offense. J.J. McCarthy doesn’t have the same benefit of full Year 2 work, and it’s showing with his inconsistency in Kevin O’Connell’ s offense. Williams is in a groove deploying his many weapons better than McCarthy is.
4 of 5 experts pick the Vikings, NFL.com
Analysis from NFL.com’s Tom Blair:
My first gut instinct said not to trust the Bears defense, which has been pushed around in recent weeks, including by the middling Giants attack in Week 10. My second gut instinct said, wait a second, the Bears offense has actually been the most reliable unit on either side lately, ranking fifth in EPA per play in the NFL since their Week 5 bye, per Next Gen Stats. Then my third gut instinct chimed in to remind me that the Vikings vulnerability against the run (they rank 20th in EPA per carry allowed) lines up perfectly against a particular strength of Chicago, which ranks third in the NFL in EPA per carry over the past five weeks. And so the great gut tie was broken. I am wary of J.J. McCarthy and Kevin O’Connell kicking it into gear, as well as the presence of an all-world receiver (Justin Jefferson) who would surely love to put last week’s rare stinker firmly behind him. But I’m also wary of McCarthy in general, given how wildly his performances have varied this season, and you don’t love to see that he’s dealing with an injury to his throwing hand. Caleb Williams and Co. ride the run game to a third straight win.
2 of 7 experts pick the Vikings, Bleacher Report
3 of 6 experts pick the Vikings, The MMQB
7 of 11 experts pick the Vikings, ESPN
6 of 6 experts pick the Vikings, USA Today
J.J. McCarthy’s accuracy must improve. The Vikings believe it will
You’ve probably seen some of the numbers and charts by now. Four games into his NFL career, J.J. McCarthy’s statistics — both the simple box score stats and various advanced metrics — paint a picture that mostly matches the eye test. McCarthy has struggled mightily with accuracy, consistency, and overall production as a thrower of the football.
Let’s run through a quick summary of the data anyways. McCarthy is 58 for 108 for 692 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. He also has two rushing touchdowns and a lost fumble. Among 37 quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks this season, McCarthy’s 53.7 percent completion rate and 65.8 passer rating are dead last. He’s 36th in adjusted EPA per play, ahead of only Cam Ward. He’s 36th in success rate and completion percentage over expected (CPOE), ahead of only Dillon Gabriel.
Just about any quarterback chart you can find has McCarthy in the bottom left corner (and, in a somewhat cruel bit of irony, has Sam Darnold all the way up in the top right).
Is that ideal? No. Is it something to panic about, or evidence that McCarthy won’t eventually become a quality NFL quarterback? Also no. Four starts is not nearly a big enough sample size to make any sweeping declarations about McCarthy’s future. That can start to happen after this season. He’s not the first QB to struggle early in their career, and he certainly won’t be the last.
Despite the numbers, it’s not all that difficult to take an optimistic view of McCarthy’s four-game start. The Vikings have managed to go 2-2 in those games, with both wins coming over division opponents on the road. He already has a pair of three-touchdown outings in the two wins. Importantly, McCarthy has shown plenty of flashes of very high-level play, which can’t be said of every young QB who goes through growing pains. On a small sample, he has the fourth-highest rate of “big-time throws” in the NFL. BTTs are a PFF stat that are defined as passes “with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.”
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The Vikings believe McCarthy is capable of making all of those fixes. Kevin O’Connell has said multiple times that he thinks everything his young quarterback is dealing with right now is normal.
“Thought he had some good pocket movement,” O’Connell said on Monday of McCarthy’s game against the Ravens. “With a lot of young quarterbacks in this phase of where he’s at right now, where we’re getting a lot of these snaps on the fly, it’s not just that subtle climb back to that safe spot, because I did think we had some good pockets for him. It’s the subtle climb and then come into balance, instead of two or three climbs and then all of a sudden, that push or the blocked shot comes into play. I just think it’s all normal, in my opinion, part of where he’s at and his development, which is something that’s very encouraging.”
“What I look for is the consistency of being able to put some routine things in that category of ‘I can expect them every time,’ and it becomes second nature,” O’Connell said on Wednesday.
Musing about quarterback whispering
— Kyle Shanahan traded the farm for Trey Lance and went to the Super Bowl with Brock Purdy.
— The Eagles, who had current QB whisperer Shane Steichen as their OC at the time, tried to trade for Russell Wilson to play over Jalen Hurts before the 2022 season.
— Zac Taylor is 40-30-1 with Joe Burrow and 9-28 without him
— Brian Daboll whispered Daniel Jones into a 9-6-1 record and $40 million contract, only to go 11-33 after that
— Kevin O’Connell is 31-11 with Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold and 7-11 without them.
The point isn’t that nobody is capable of maximizing their quarterback’s capabilities, it’s that nobody has a method that is iron clad. It’s true that organizations often fail quarterbacks but sometimes quarterbacks do fail organizations.
How does this apply to the Vikings and the situation with JJ McCarthy?
A lot of the Vikings’ decision to move on from Sam Darnold and roll with McCarthy in 2025 was built upon the principle that they were the exception — that they had the magic formula. Hey, they made Nick Mullens competitive. They took Darnold to the next level. Kirk finally believed in himself and became Captain Comeback. Why not this guy?
When McCarthy was drafted, a common sentiment from the analysis world and within agents and players was that Minnesota was the place to be. O’Connell’s offense was thought to be QB friendly and those guys who wear No. 18 and No. 3 make everybody look better than they are. Invest a first-rounder and $17 million per year in the guard position and you’ve got yourself a fool proof situation.
So far, the only proof has been that nothing in football is guaranteed. Through four games, McCarthy ranks 38th of 38 in clean-pocket completion percentage, 34th of 40 in PFF passing grade, 40th of 40 in traditional QB rating and 38th of 40 in turnover-worthy play percentage.
Justin Jefferson, whose QBs have a 106.2 QB rating when targeting him over his career, has 84 yards in the last two weeks and 209 total in four games with McCarthy with 1 TD and 4 INTs on throws targeting him.
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Per PFF, 22.0% of McCarthy’s pressures have been caused by him, which is the fifth highest rate in the NFL. He has the second highest pressure-to-sack ratio in the league, only behind rookie Cam Ward.
O’Connell alluded to the fact that he wants McCarthy to check down more often and that he’s trying to add “easy button” plays into the mix to help him “see the ball go through the hoop.”
From his comment, it sounds like sometimes the QB just has to find those throws.
“Maybe those layup throws have to be backside-in cuts or underneath routes to Adam Thielen or to just kind of progress and put the ball in play,” O’Connell said.
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Here’s the problem that we’re all dealing with, from the team to the media to the most casual fan: Four games doesn’t tell us much, historically speaking. Alex Smith, Matthew Stafford and Eli Manning were terrible in their first four games and turned out to be really good QBs. Many other QBs were terrible in their first four games and turned out to be duds.
Nobody knows what’s going to become of McCarthy, no matter how loud they talk.
At the same time, the team didn’t plan on things being this rocky. If they fall out of the playoff race, I’m sure the goal posts will be moved in terms of what 2025 was supposed to be but when players wear “more is required” shirts and ownership spends enough money to build a tower in New York City on free agency, we can safely say that this team expected to win. Fans were right to set the bar high and expect McCarthy to lead this team to a lot of wins right away because that was the signal they were sent by the Vikings moving on from Darnold and not signing Jones/Rodgers.
Justin Jefferson on getting back to ‘savage mode,’ advice for J.J. McCarthy
“I need to get back to year3 Jets,” he wrote on his Instagram story.
“Yeah, just the big plays,” he said. “That year, I had the Offensive Player of the Year. Just different moments in that season, I felt like I was just on a different level. Tryna work back into that. The feeling of being out there on Sundays, going out there and just killing it, whoever’s in front of me. Just having that mentality back and being back to my old self.”
“I guess you could look at it and see every year’s a spectacular year for me, but I feel like that year was just a different year,” Jefferson said of 2022.
“I only can control the things that I can control,” he said. “And personally, mentally, just wanting to get back into that mode, into I like to say savage mode. It’s just going out there with that F-it mentality and killing it and not worrying about the plays, not worrying about anything else that I can’t control. Just doing everything that I can control and making the most of my opportunities.”
What’s led to Jefferson getting away from that ‘savage mode’ mindset?
“Life,” he said. “Just different things going on in my life. Just wanting to get back to that kid phase of — I still love football, but overly loving football and overly loving being out there on Sundays and making the big plays and being a part of this great organization. Wanting to get back, mentally, into that mode.”
“I wouldn’t say I lost it, but of course it’s a little bit difficult when teams play me the way they have been playing me,” Jefferson said. “I don’t have those one-on-one coverages as much as I used to. And that’s probably why I miss year 3 Jets. I guess you could say that kind of takes a way a little bit of the joy, but I still love going out there and playing football. I still love waking up every single day and coming here and doing this job.”
The hidden metric that shows the Vikings might be ready to break through
Perhaps one of the most overlooked metrics through 10 weeks of the NFL season is how the Vikings’ strength of victory compares to their division rivals. Did you know that Minnesota’s strength of victory is .472?
The only teams still in the playoff picture with a higher SOV than the Vikings are Philadelphia (.516) and Pittsburgh (.511). Minnesota lost to both in competitive games when the roster was depleted with injuries.
Strength of victory — the combined winning percentage of all the teams a team has beaten — might not mean much on its own, but it gives a sense of how a team like the Vikings, despite its 4-5 record, has an ability to take down teams with good records.
Maybe Minnesota, despite its flaws, is on the cusp of a breakthrough? They have, in fact, beaten the first- and second-place teams in the NFC North. The Vikings are in the thick of the wild-card race, and because they’re 2-0 in the division, they still have a chance to win the NFC North despite being two games behind division-leading Detroit (6-3) and Chicago (6-3).
Will Fries: Motivation Through Acclimation with Vikings
Will Fries is a mountain of a man and has been a mainstay of the Vikings offensive line.
Signed by Minnesota in free agency March 11, after starting 31 of 41 games in four seasons with Indianapolis, the 6-foot-6, 321-pound right guard has played 537 snaps on offense in 2025, more than every other offensive player and second on the Vikings roster overall, factoring in special teams (576).
A heckuva feat for a fella who broke his leg 13 months ago and is figuring out how to be himself, again.
“It can be really frustrating,” Fries shared wholeheartedly.
“It was really hard to come back and not feel like the way you’ve been feeling when you come off a couple of games in 2024 – when you feel like you’re playing some of your better football – and then you come back and you’re not playing as crisp, or it’s not working the same way you want to,” Fries detailed. “But when I first got here, my first six months, having Coach Kup’ (Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper) and Coach Phillips (Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips) having your back and realizing, you know, it’s not going to be perfect right away, it takes a big weight off your [shoulders]. Because I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well. I want to do well and I want to perform for the guys next to me on the team.”
That’s a mountainous incentive for Fries – to be available and to be better tomorrow than today.
“He’s the epitome of a football dude,” right tackle Brian O’Neill assessed. “This might be a weird thing to say, but he loves playing football, not just being a football player. He loves practice, he loves meetings, he loves everything about it. And it’s (been) a ton of fun to watch him come back from the injury he had.
“He got married this summer and then left his honeymoon after two days to come back and rehab,” O’Neill added. “They postponed the honeymoon, you know, the real honeymoon, until next year because it’s important to him to do it and do it right, and he’s willing to sacrifice and lay it on the line.”
Fries is quirky in that he savors the stuff other players sometimes dread, such as a Thursday practice outdoors in mid-November when it’s chilly and the body is sore from the first 10 weeks of the season
“He’s just excited to go out and do individual drills at a high level,” O’Neill said with a smile.
“You want to prove the people right that always believed in you, and you play for your parents or your wife or coaches that believe in you,” Fries expressed. “But then there’s also the fun part of it where you get to prove people wrong, people that didn’t believe in you or doubted you. I think that’s kind of motivating, too, and it’s a lot of fun when you’re counted out and your back is against the wall and you get to go out there and put your best film on tape, rise to the occasion or you’ll sink to the level of your training, whatever you want to say. … It’s what you fight through so much adversity for and who you sacrifice so much for when you get to those high-stress moments. It makes the game a lot of fun.”
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“You look at where our season’s kind of gone [relating to the offensive line], and the ebbs and flows, Will’s been a rock for us,” Head Coach Kevin O’Connell said two days before hosting Baltimore. “And I think he’s really coming into his own, finding his stride within our system, both the run and pass game.
“You feel his physicality on game day,” he added, complimenting Fries’ role at Detroit. “Even in a noisy environment the other day, he was noticeable early in the game, him and B.O. (Brian O’Neill) working together in combinations or him and Blake [Brandel] in an interior combination, you could feel that.
“And then I think coming off the injury,” O’Connell continued, “the one area he probably needed a little time to work through early in the season was pass pro, and you feel him really coming into his own there, as well. So I’ve been really happy with Will. And most importantly, he’s been one of those guys that has been a part of just about every [lineup] we’ve had, I think all 18 of them or whatever it’s been.”
That’s the element of Fries’ comeback that’s mind-blowing.
He’s the one person on the Vikings o-line that’s played in every game this season. In a perfect world, Fries would be sandwiched every snap between his Colts teammate and first-year Vikings center Ryan Kelly, and Minnesota’s fourth-longest tenured player, O’Neill. Instead, Fries, whom Kelly calls “Spud,” has played beside both of them for 90 snaps spread across three games due to injuries (Kelly has dealt with two concussions and O’Neill missed 11 ½ quarters that began with an MCL sprain). As a result, Fries, so far, has taken his stance next to sophomore NFL players Michael Jurgens and Walter Rouse, and veterans Brandel and Justin Skule in addition to Kelly and O’Neill. According to Next Gen Stats, the Vikings lead the league with 12 different offensive line combinations that have played together for 10 or more snaps.
“After not having a whole offseason, that’s really impressive,” O’Neill said of Fries being the one constant. “What we’re going to start to see is the more game reps he gets in this system and hopefully the more reps me and him get together, the better he will play, and then in turn the better we’ll all play.”
Although the quasi-musical chairs up front has curtailed Minnesota’s o-line, which entered 2025 with new starters at center (Kelly) and both guard spots (first-round rookie Donovan Jackson and Fries), from forming crucial in-game chemistry, the frequent changing has probably caused Fries to acclimate quicker.
“He’s kind of that tree stump in there. It’s a very large tree stump, like a redwood that was cut down, just planted right in there,” Phillips commented. “Will’s like the ultimate o-lineman. He just wants to come off the rock and hit people, and you love that about him. He also is a young player that is still progressing in his career, so I think there’s room for improvement, and he sees that and he works toward it every day.”
O’Neill appraised Fries’ strengths: “His sheer size and ability to move people in the run game is awesome. I think that’s one of the really good things [he does]. I think he’s able to keep the interior of the pocket firm. He’s just a really well-rounded player, and he’s really fun to have in the [o-line] room.”
Fries is confident in the trajectory of his individual performance and bullish about his teammates.
“We have 10-11 guys in that room that can play and have dressed for a reason,” he said. “It’s not always going to be perfect. It never will be. Everyone gets ‘got’ in this league at some point. But how do you respond to that adversity? When you get beat or you lose a rep, how are you going to bounce back? – and not let it snowball into two or three bad reps and just keep it at one. And the more that we can do that and play with toughness and grit and all those kind of cliché words, the better the outcome will be.”
Specific to himself, Fries is aware of areas of his skill set he aspires to elevate. As a road grader, he is working to fire off the ball “a little bit harder” and synchronize hot-blooded physicality with cleaned-up technique. And in pass protection, he’s focused on bending lower in his base, he said, and “playing with really good hands and really good eyes, so I can protect against any front, any player and any scheme.”
In dealing with a fury of adversity, beginning with his rehabilitation and continuing with his steady presence in a starting five that’s more fluid than solid, Fries has realized there’s a beauty to the struggle.
“You’re only as good as how well you learn from mistakes, and if you can learn from one mistake a day that you made and make it right the next time, it’s going to lead to more consistent play and the play that we all hope and dream of playing, you know, that All-Pro, best o-line, whatever mark you want to put on it,” he said. “It’s about getting a little bit better every single day and learning from your mistakes.”
Suffice to say, the rock of Minnesota’s offensive line is on the other side of a hard place.
“I’m super grateful for all the people here that kind of took me in and helped me grow and get back to being the player on the field that I want to be, especially the training staff,” Fries offered. “Those guys did a really good job of helping me rehab and get back on the field. So definitely a big shout out to them.”
Vikings Draft Needs 2026 per AI
The Minnesota Vikings’ key draft needs for the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft are primarily in the secondary, with safety being a priority, and the defensive and offensive lines. As of November 15, 2025, Minnesota currently holds eight selections for the 2026 draft.
Based on recent analysis, here are the Vikings’ notable positional needs:
Safety: The Vikings will likely need to find a successor for veteran safety Harrison Smith, who is nearing the end of his career. Josh Metellus has emerged as a reliable starter, but they need a long-term running mate to fill the spot left by Camryn Bynum’s free-agency departure.
Cornerback: The team has invested in the cornerback position but could still use a potential long-term starter or a versatile slot defender. The aggressive nature of defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s scheme requires a strong, deep secondary.
Defensive Line: The Vikings have added talent to the defensive interior, but with key players like Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, and Harrison Phillips all in their 30s, the team needs to inject youth and depth for the future.
Linebacker: While Ivan Pace Jr. and Blake Cashman have been reliable, the team could target more depth and potentially a player with a more versatile skillset to fit Flores’s scheme.
Offensive Line: The interior offensive line was a weakness at the end of the 2024 season. While some needs were addressed in the 2025 draft and free agency, adding depth and competition at center and guard remains important.
Running Back: Though they have solid current options, some analysts suggest the team could add another running back to address depth behind new faces at the position.
A lot will depend on what happens with current contracts and free agency. Also, does position value matter much?
A bonus AI question …
“safest positions to draft in the first round of the NFL draft”
Drafting an offensive lineman, particularly an interior offensive lineman or a tackle, is generally considered the safest position in the first round of the NFL Draft, historically showing the lowest bust rates. Linebackers and safeties are also statistically reliable first-round picks, though they are less frequently selected early in the draft.
Position : Rationale
Offensive Lineman (Tackle and Interior): Offensive linemen are considered the safest picks, with a higher percentage of players developing into reliable starters. It is easier to project a college lineman’s physical traits and technique to the NFL level compared to many other positions.
Linebacker: First-round linebackers have the second-highest success rate behind offensive linemen, with a low bust rate. In fact, 70% of first-round linebackers have gone on to be starters for at least half of their careers.
Safety : Safeties have historically proven to be a relatively safe bet when drafted in the first round. Because they are drafted less frequently, the safeties selected tend to be elite talents who are more likely to succeed.
Riskiest positions
Position : Rationale
Quarterback : Quarterback is the riskiest position to draft in the first round due to its boom-or-bust nature. While franchise quarterbacks provide immense value, more than 50% of first-round quarterbacks end up as backups or fail to meet expectations.
Running Back : Drafting a running back in the first round carries a very high bust rate, with one study finding that first-round running backs were twice as likely to be busts as to become Pro Bowlers. The position is generally de-emphasized in the draft due to short careers and lower long-term value.
Wide Receiver and Edge Rusher : Wide receiver and edge rusher are also risky positions in the first round, with lower “hit rates” compared to offensive linemen. Both positions also carry a high degree of volatility, meaning their performance can vary widely.
An double bonus AI question …
Show me a table of bust rates by position
Position : Bust Rate Category
Quarterback : High
Running Back : High
Wide Receiver : High/Moderate
Defensive Line / Edge Rusher : Moderate
Cornerback : Moderate
Offensive Line : Low
Linebacker : Low
Safety : Low
Tight End : Low/Moderate
Your AI Mock Draft
Minnesota Vikings 2026 mock draft
Round : Pick (Predicted) : Player : Position : School : Analysis
Pick 1 : 14 : Jeremiyah Love : RB : Notre Dame
With Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones both possibly gone after the 2025 season, the Vikings could look for a new dynamic backfield weapon. Love is a high-end talent with speed and receiving ability that fits the modern NFL and would take pressure off J.J. McCarthy.
Pick 2 : 45 : Keon Sabb : S : Alabama
The potential retirement of Harrison Smith makes safety a clear need. Sabb, a versatile and physical defender, has been identified by analysts as a strong candidate to fill the role and fit defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s scheme.
Pick 3 : 78 : Francis Mauigoa : OT : Miami
While the Vikings have a solid offensive line, adding a player of Mauigoa’s caliber in the third round would be excellent value. He could be an immediate depth piece with the potential to eventually replace a veteran like Rob Havenstein at right tackle.
Pick 3 : 104 : Anthony Hill Jr. : LB/DE : Texas
Hill is a highly versatile defender who can play off-ball linebacker or rush the passer from the edge. Given the uncertainty around some of the team’s linebackers, adding a player with Hill’s instincts and explosiveness would be a huge boost for the defense.
Pick 4 : 110 : Avieon Terrell : CB : Clemson
The secondary remains a significant area of need despite adding Isaiah Rodgers. Terrell is an instinctual and competitive corner who can play both inside and outside. He could provide solid depth and potentially grow into a starting role across from Byron Murphy Jr..
Pick 5 : 150 : Carnell Tate : WR : Ohio State
Adding another weapon to the receiving corps for J.J. McCarthy is never a bad idea. Tate is a polished route runner with reliable hands and the ability to make contested catches. He would offer another high-level target alongside Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Pick 6 : 183 : Caleb Banks : DT : Florida
This pick addresses the need for depth on the defensive line, particularly on the interior. Despite an injury in 2025, Banks is a physical presence who can demand double teams and provide valuable pass-rush potential from the inside.
Pick 7 : 220 : KC Concepcion : WR : Texas A&M
A dynamic and shifty receiver, Concepcion could be a late-round steal with significant upside. He’s a playmaker who can be used on screens, reverses, and as a dangerous returner, adding a versatile element to the Vikings’ special teams and offense.
Pick 7 : 240 : Emmanuel McNeil-Warren : S : Toledo
Another late-round pick to shore up the secondary, McNeil-Warren is a versatile safety who offers excellent length, instincts, and ball skills. He could compete for a roster spot and contribute on special teams.
Pick 7 : 255 : Red Murdock : LB : Buffalo
Adding a hard-hitting, instinctive linebacker like Murdock in the seventh round is a great depth move. He is a productive tackler who can push for a roster spot and contribute heavily on special teams.
AI has a long ways to go because many of these players are ranked much higher. But I would take it!
Yore Mock (provided by this Draft Hipster Doofus)
Trade Partner: TitansSent: Pick 14Received: Pick 33, Pick 65, 2027 TEN 2nd, 2027 TEN 3rd…Trade Partner: SaintsSent: Pick 153, 2027 5thReceived: 137…Trade Partner: BrownsSent: Pick 233, 2027 6thReceived: 201…
Pick 33. Dillon Thieneman S Oregon 6’0” 205Pick 45. Chris Brazzell II WR Tennessee 6’5” 200Pick 65. Davison Igbinosun CB Ohio State 6’2” 195Pick 79. Domonique Orange DT Iowa State 6;4” 325Pick 97. Jonah Coleman RB Washington 5’9” 225Pick 137. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. EDGE Ohio State 6’6” 265Pick 201. Justin Joly TE NC State 6’3” 235Pick 228. Pat Coogan OC Indiana 6’5” 311Pick 229. Jacob Rodriguez LB Texas Tech 6’1” 235Pick 230. Trinidad Chambliss QB Ole Miss 6’1” 200
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